The Conch Calendar Says June 30. On Ambergris Caye, the Quota Decides.

"There is not enough conch out there," one fisherman told The San Pedro Sun on opening day of the 2025–26 season. Others at the Embarcadero that morning had come in with full boats. That season was scheduled to run until June 30, 2026. It ended on April 6.

The 2026–27 Queen Conch season opened on October 1 and officially runs through June 30, 2027. The Belize Fisheries Department can close it sooner once the national production quota is reached. In each of the last four seasons, it did. Treat June 30 as the latest the season can run. The quota sets the actual end, and the fritters and ceviche on San Pedro menus run on the same clock.

Four Seasons, Four Early Closures

Each closure came with a public notice. How much warning that notice gave has varied a lot from year to year.

The 2023–24 season ran almost four weeks longer than the one before it, so the dates don't move in a straight line. All four seasons fell short of June 30, and the most recent one fell short by nearly three months. Counted from October 1, the 2025–26 season lasted about six months of a scheduled nine.

Warning time also shifts. In 2023, the notice came five days before the close. In 2026, it came nine days ahead, on a Saturday morning in late March. Anyone hoping for one more plate of conch ceviche before the closure has had between about one and two and a half weeks to get it.

Why the Quota Sets the End Date

The Fisheries Department bases each year's quota on its annual national conch survey, and the season closes once that quota is filled. In the March 2026 notice, Minister of Blue Economy and Marine Conservation Andre Perez declared the fishery closed "due to the realization of the Queen Conch Production Quota for the 2025-2026 fishing season." The notice gave no other reason and published no quota figure, so there is no public number to compare against earlier years.

The quota is shared among a short list of fishing groups and processors. The ministry's 2024/2025 annual report says that season's allocation went to three cooperatives and two private processors. A November 2024 investigation in The San Pedro Sun named five groups receiving quota: the National Fishermen Producers Co-operative Society Ltd, Northern Fishermen Cooperative, Fein Catch Company, Rainforest Seafood Ltd and Rio Grande Fishermen Cooperative. The same report put harvested production for 2023–24 at 953,900 pounds, 85 percent of it market-clean. According to the Sun, the season closes based on the total landings those groups report. When the national total is reached, the season ends for everyone, including restaurants in San Pedro that buy directly from local fishers.

That same 2024 coverage described a disagreement between the department, which called the stock healthy, and researchers and fishers who questioned how it was being assessed. It also noted that queen conch is listed in CITES Appendix II. The debate was still going on the next fall. On the 2025 opening day, Francisco Morales told The San Pedro Sun his group had a strong catch because "we protect our fishing areas," and said unprotected areas where illegal fishing happens would show a decline.

Where San Pedro's Conch Ends Up

Here's why the closure date matters at the dinner table. According to The San Pedro Sun's October 2025 report, most conch harvested in San Pedro is sold locally to restaurants serving the tourism industry, at BZ$15 to BZ$18 per pound during the 2025–26 season. With most of the island's catch going to local kitchens, the quota calendar shows up quickly on the menu.

The closure rules apply to those kitchens too. The March 2026 closure notice told establishments and the public to use, eat or dispose of all Queen Conch meat by April 6. Anyone found holding conch after that date faced prosecution under the Fisheries Regulations. Under that notice, conch left over from the season couldn't legally be kept past the closing date, so local conch came off menus until October.

Some conch disappears even earlier. Supply changes from week to week, and individual restaurants can run out before any official notice. A San Pedro golf cart rental company's October 2026 guide makes the same point and tells diners to check what's available before heading out.

Where to Order It This Fall

A month into the 2026–27 season, conch is back on menus across town. That October 12, 2026 guide from One Love Golf Cart Rentals maps a self-guided "Fritter & Ceviche Trail." It isn't an organized event. It's a list of San Pedro kitchens known for particular conch dishes:

1. Elvi's Kitchen for conch fritters and conch soup
2. Lily's Treasure Chest for ceviche made with conch or shrimp
3. Estel's for conch or mixed ceviche
4. El Fogon for fritters, soup and ceviche
5. Waruguma for fritters and ceviche

Menus change, so call ahead or check a restaurant's own page before building an afternoon around one dish. The same guide notes that conch dishes vary from place to place. Fritters, ceviche, soup, stewed conch and fried conch are the familiar seasonal dishes on the island.

Lobster season is open at the same time and runs until mid-February, so from now through early winter both are in season. Based on recent seasons, these months are the dependable stretch for conch. Recent closures have come anywhere from early April to early June, so spring is uncertain.

The Rules That Shape Every Plate

The size rules set the minimum for every legal conch on a San Pedro plate. The 2026 opening notice sets the minimum shell length at more than 7 inches, or 17.8 centimeters, and refers to minimum meat weights. The 2025 Fisheries Administrator notice spelled those weights out: more than 7½ ounces unprocessed, more than 3 ounces market-clean, and more than 2¾ ounces as fillet. Fillet or diced meat in any form other than market-clean requires a special permit. Legal size and maturity don't always line up. The San Pedro Sun's 2024 report described a 2021 study of the Turneffe Atoll fishery. About 87.4 percent of the harvested conch in that study were longer than the legal 7 inches, yet about 73.3 percent were below the maturity threshold.

The closed season is fixed regardless of the quota. According to the 2026 opening notice, from July 1 through September 30, taking, buying, selling or possessing Queen Conch is illegal, and exports can't go over the quota granted under the Fisheries Resources Act. The Fisheries Department takes reports of illegal fishing at 224-4552. The 2026 opening notices didn't give a number for this season's quota, so no one can yet say how close the 2026–27 total is to being reached. The early-closure notice, whenever it comes, will be the first public signal. Recently that notice has run in local outlets such as Breaking Belize News anywhere from five to eighteen days before the last legal day.

This post covers fisheries rules for general information only. It isn't legal advice, so anyone buying, holding or selling conch should confirm current requirements with the Belize Fisheries Department.

If you rent out a place on the island or are planning your own months here, the conch calendar affects which weeks your guests will find fritters on the menu. New Dawn Realty manages properties for owners on Ambergris Caye who want that kind of local timing built into their rental and owner-stay planning. Start Your Belize Property Search with a team that follows the island's calendar as closely as the market.